Helpless
by AlohaBlackbird
Summary: After Henry's injuries he needs Elizabeth to help him with even the most basic tasks.


Apologies for any typos or glaring errors...I wrote this on my phone and I'm so bad at editing on it...

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Helpless wasn't a feeling Henry McCord enjoyed having. In fact he loathed it. For someone who was used to functioning at full capacity about 98% of the time, the fact that he couldn't even get out of bed by himself was beyond frustrating.

Elizabeth had been gone all day, Stevie had helped him a little in the morning but being as stubborn as he was he had refused to call the agents outside the house to help him with anything. Getting help from his own family was one thing but it was bad enough the agents had to help him up and down the stairs, he wasn't going to ask them for anything else.

Elizabeth made a point to come home a little early and he couldn't have been happier. Not only was he bored out of his mind but he needed to get out of this bed.

Elizabeth walked into their bedroom. "Hey baby, how are you doing?" She asked, her face alight with her stunning smile.

Just seeing her face made him feel a million times better. "Hey, you're home early."

She sat next to him on the edge of the bed and leaned in for a quick peck.

"I was worried about you."

Henry reached out to squeeze her hand that was resting on his thigh, "Come on now, I'm fine."

Elizabeth just sighed, they would revisit the desk job conversation once he could walk on his own again. Right now she was just going to enjoy the fact that he was home safe.

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"Can you help me to the bathroom?"

Elizabeth nodded, "Of course."

She got up and grabbed his ankle boot. He was lucky the ankle break hadn't been too bad and with the boot to help him he could put some weight on it. She pulled back the covers and tried not to cringe at the sight of his black and blue toes peeking out from the bandage. It could have been so much worse, she just had to keep reminding herself of that.

She put the boot on and pulled the covers back farther to make sure his knee brace was on properly. His knee break had been much worse and therefore he needed to wear the brace as much as possible. He was a little too unsteady at the moment to use just his crutches and she felt better being his support anyway.

She stood up and kicked off her shoes. She'd never be able to balance the both of them in heels.

Shifting his body toward the edge of the bed was the easy part. She wrapped her arm tightly around his torso and anchored his hand around her shoulders as she carefully lifted him off the bed.

She bit her tongue as she watched him cringe at the pressure on his broken bones. She hated seeing him in pain.

She carefully helped him move, silently cursing that the wheelchair was just too wide for their bathroom. His hand was gripping hers around her shoulder so tightly she thought he might leave an imprint where her ring was but she just didn't care, getting him into the bathroom without injuring him further was much more important than a little bruise from her ring.

Slowly they made their way to the bathroom, Henry's steps were slow and short and by the time they reached the toilet area she knew he was beyond frustrated. "Hey, you're doing fine."

He took a deep breath and nodded. She could tell he was trying his hardest not to complain. Finally they got him onto the toilet and she could tell he was trying his hardest to not let out his frustration.

"At least this is no big deal for us, I killed this part of the magic what, six months into our relationship?" She joked.

A smile appeared on Henry's face as he recalled the memory she was referencing. He had been shaving in his tiny college apartment bathroom and she had walked in like nothing and started the most casual conversation with him while using the bathroom like it was absolutely nothing.

She started to laugh, "I think I was trying to scare you off. We were getting so serious so quickly."

Henry's eyes twinkled, "It didn't scare me off though. I think all it did was make me even more certain that you were my one and done."

Elizabeth grinned, "Because it's not really magic if it can be ruined by normal bodily functions."

Henry laughed, "Exactly."

When Henry finished Elizabeth helped him hobble up. "Hey, while we've got you in here you want to take a shower?"

He cocked an eyebrow mischeviously, "What about a bath?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not getting in with you."

Henry's face fell and she couldn't help but laugh. "That tub is far too small for both of us while you're all broken."

Henry laughed, "Okay, fine, the shower is big enough though."

"I will help you out in the shower but I'm not holding you up the whole time so you have to use that shower chair they gave us."

Henry pouted but nodded his head in agreement. That was a fair compromise.

Elizabeth helped him into the shower and tugged down his boxers before she sat him down on the chair and then started taking his clothes and braces off.

She tugged at the hem of his shirt, indicating she needed him to lift his arms up so she could pull it over his head. This was the one part he didn't need help with but he wasn't complaining. She tossed the shirt to the side and ran her hands along his shoulders before she kneeled down in front of him to start with his braces. She did his ankle first and then moved on to his knee.

She moved nimble fingers over the brace, attempting to keep her touch as delicate as possible. When she pulled the brace off and unwrapped the cloth bandage she had to try her hardest to keep herself cool at the sight of his swollen and bruised knee.

Henry could tell the visual was upsetting her and reached out to place his hand on her shoulder in what he hoped was a gesture reassuring her that he was indeed okay.

She paused and took a breath and reached up for his hand so she could move it and kiss the top of it, her lips lingering for a moment as she composed herself.

She removed the brace and his boxers and turned around to start the shower and warm up the water before she took off her own clothes. She turned off the rain shower, she didn't want Henry to be doused with cold water until it heated up, but she failed to realize the attachment was pointed right at him and of course it was right at his eye level so the minute she turned the water on he was met with a burst of cold water to the face. She scrambled to shove it out of the way and she turned back toward her husband who had a look of shock on his face. She covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her laughter, "I am so sorry, baby!"

He pursed his lips and after a moment his lips started to curve upward. "I'm pretty sure you're not sorry at all." He teased.

She gave up trying to stifle her giggled, "Okay, you're right about that but I am sorry that I'm not sorry."

Henry rolled his eyes and laughed. "I suppose I deserve that."

She cringed, he definitely did, and ducked out of the shower to take off the rest of their clothes and grab a fresh washcloth and towels for them. When she stepped into the shower the water was nice and warm and she switched the rain shower back on.

Henry smiled at her, "You're beautiful." He said, tugging at her hand. He then sighed, the warm water felt good running down his sore muscles.

Elizabeth decided to shampoo his hair first. She grabbed his Kiehl's shampoo and squirted a dollop into her hand. She lathered it in her hands and took a big whiff. It smelled so good, like citrus and mint, she loved when he showered before bed, the scent would linger and calm her, especially combined with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

She ran her hands through his soft hair, massaging the shampoo onto his head. His hair had gotten grayer in the last couple years but it seemed to only make him look better, more distinguished.

He leaned his head back against her stomach, lulled almost to sleep by her comforting massage.

She giggled, "Baby you can't fall asleep in here, I'll never be able to get you out."

Henry laughed and sat up so he wasn't leaning against her body.

She grabbed the attachment to rinse the shampoo out of his hair, carefully cupping her free hand over his head so she didn't get water or soap in his eyes. It reminded her of how she used to do that for the kids when they were little.

Once she rinsed all the shampoo out she grabbed his soap and a washcloth and started to wash his body. She started with his arms and chest, he could do all of this himself but there was something about doing it for him, the act of taking care of him in such a hands on way that made her feel a little better about everything that had happened. Maybe it was just the physical reminder that he was here in front of her. Henry could sense that and just sat silently as she worked. She started on his legs and she had to kneel down, thank god for the mat on the floor or else her knees would never forgive her. She ran the washcloth ever so gently down his leg, she bit her lip and looked up, "Does that hurt?"

He shook his head, "No."

She had her free hand resting on his thigh to balance herself and Henry reached out to intertwine their fingers as she carefully worked on his leg. She smiled to herself, reminiscing, "How on earth did we spend so much time on our knees in the shower when we were young? This is so uncomfortable."

Henry chuckled, he knew exactly what she was referring to. He shook his head, "Young and in love?" He offered.

Elizabeth laughed, "Those were the days."

Henry shrugged, "Nah, personally I'm a bigger fan of old and in love. We might not be too adventurous anymore but we still have a great sex life...at least I think we do." His voice sounded a little unsure.

Elizabeth looked him in the eye and smiled sincerely, "I agree."

"And I wouldn't trade all these years with you for anything."He added as he reached out for her shoulder to pull her in for a kiss. When he tried to deepen it she pulled back, "Absolutely not, Dr. McCord, maybe in a couple weeks when you aren't freshly broken. Especially not in the shower. You just know that would end badly and personally I don't want to have to explain that to your doctor."

Henry burst out laughing and raised his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay that's fair.".

She finished up his other leg and stood up. "You mind if I wash my hair quick?"

Henry shook his head, "Not at all."

He enjoyed watching her wash her hair and he wished he could do it for her. There was something so intimate about washing her hair and he felt a little frustrated that he couldn't help her. He still enjoyed watching her though, he was pretty sure she was even more beautiful than the day he'd met her. Her body looked different, so did his, that was just part of life. But Henry loved that every single line or mark was like a memory or a milestone of all they'd been through together and he loved that. She just got more and more beautiful as the years went by.

When she finished she reached out to grab a towel. She wrapped one around herself first and then grabbed one for Henry. She ran it through his hair first and then thoroughly dried off his body. She wanted him mostly dry before she put his braces back on and she most definitely wasn't going to try to move him without them.

She carefully bandaged him back up, "Are you sure these are okay? Not too tight?" She couldn't stand the idea of causing him any more pain than he was already in.

He shook his head, "Elizabeth." He only needed the one word to ease her mind.

She helped him back to the bedroom, slowly but surely, and Henry looked beyond relieved when he sank down into the bed.

"How about we eat dinner up here tonight, baby?" Elizabeth asked, silently praying he didn't feel like he had to make an appearance downstairs.

He nodded as she helped him shift onto the bed, "Yeah eating up here is good." He definitely wasn't up for being carried up and down the stairs tonight.

Elizabeth was grateful and ordered them some takeout before changing into her lounge clothes and heading downstairs to get ready for eating upstairs.

Ali walked in the door as she was gathering plates and she had the takeout in her hand. "Did you order Chinese?"

Elizabeth smiled, "Hi Noodle, yes we did are you hungry?"

Ali handed over the food and dumped her things. "Yeah, I could eat. Where's Dad?"

"He's upstairs, we're going to eat there tonight. You want to join us?"

Ali looked skeptical but she nodded.

"What's wrong?"

Ali sighed, "Its just...is he really okay?"

Elizabeth's heart broke a little knowing Ali had been so worried about her Dad. She reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Baby, he's fine. You don't need to be worrying about your Dad, that's my job."

Ali just nodded, unsure of what she could and couldn't ask. Elizabeth hated this aspect of their jobs and how it affected their kids.

She and Ali made their way upstairs with the food. "Hey look, one out of three." She joked as she and Ali walked through the doorway.

Henry's eyes lit up, "Hey Noodle, you eating with us?"

Ali nodded, "Yeah, how are you?"

He smiled at her, "Oh I'm fine. You know me."

Ali smiled, she did know her Dad wasn't one to be down for long.

Henry noticed that she seemed a little nervous and he patted the spot next to him on the bed. "Come here, it'll be like when you were little and Mom was away and we would all pile in bed and eat out dinner and watch silly movies."

Elizabeth paused, "Hang on...what?"

Ali giggled and crawled onto the bed. "If you were gone on Friday nights we all would eat in your bed and watch a movie. Dad called it bedroom camping."

Elizabeth handed over the plates and just shook her head at her husband, trying her hardest not to laugh at his admission.

Henry just shrugged, totally unrepentant.

She just laughed and rolled her eyes as she got settled next to Ali.

They made casual conversation, mostly about Ali's day at school, as they ate but Elizabeth couldn't help notice that upon finishing her food Ali had curled up with her head on her Dad's shoulder.

She just watched them for a little while and silently hoped that maybe the burden of knowing his daughter was so worried about him would make Henry rethink his "desk job".

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This felt scattered and I didn't really have a clear view of where I wanted to go with it so honestly I don't know how I feel about it but I figured if I thought about it for too long I'd never post it so I just sucked it up. Let me know what you think pretty please? X J


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